"I don't want her here".
Marluxia's voice is low and dangerous, Addressing Larxene over tense shoulders. It's an angry demand, from a teenager strained to breaking. There are no questions, there are no possibilities. All other options quickly surpassed best-before dates as soon as she set glamorous red heels through his door. His statement is an order, not a suggestion. Larxene knows by now to keep her calm and collected exterior, Wear it like an encouraging smile. To speak would be suicide.
Marluxia's pacing the door space, tattered runners hammering a monotonous beat on broken floorboards. Or just maybe that's her heart. His hands are white-knuckled, Tangled in his hair, Frustration pulling and tensing the minute wrinkles on his face.

"She's too much hassle. I don't want the authorities back here snooping around again Larxene".

"Why so suddenly?"

"Why is Axel back?"

"Why can't she find somewhere else to go?"

"Why did I let her?"
Why do I do this?

The questions are spilling, bleeding from his gaping wound of a mouth, leaking through clenched teeth and curled lips. A rare crack in composure for the leader of an elite street team. Larxene squeezes her eyes shut, As if the action would bring about silence. She pretends not to notice her boss's sudden lack of composure. He's not particularly interested in her solutions, just finds comfort in knowing someone else knows his pressures.

Silence slowly creeps in on their detached little scene, its chilling fingers wrapping around his tongue and muting him effectively. Larxene shifts uneasily, a gentle reminder she's still waiting for something, an order, a revelation, a beating. Human contact would be nice. It becomes so forced after a while.

"Okay. Melody wants back into the club circuit ..." He tests the words, marking his points with boney fingers. Larxene nods obediently from across the room, watching with vague amusement as the usual face of the operation makes his plans. People normally don't suspect her as the brains behind such power. "Partners in crime" Axel had once called them, "How can I muscle in on that?" She recalls the memory, the vacant look in his eyes as they broke off a jittery relationship for the final time before Axel took his leave. Axel had always been an interesting toy to play with, Glittery eyes, polished words and a raw fuck. These things aren't meant to last.

"Why would Axel be back 'Round?" Marluxia wanders aloud, Composure seeping back into his voice, Fingers coiling in loose locks of hair. Larxene, Torn from her thoughts, Barely recalls the topic of conversation.

"I don't understand why you see him as a threat" she mumbles, Fingers curled into tight fists on the decaying wood of his make shift desk.
Marluxia for the first time since Melody left almost an hour ago, Drags his eyes from something she can't see, and rests them heavily on her hunched figure. Level, Hard, Unfeeling. Familiar. She hadn't been looking for a lover when she first encountered Marluxia, She had needed a co-worker.

"It's not me who sees him as the threat; dear ..." He turns ghostly eyes heavenwards in the dimly lit room, feigned thoughtfulness.

"And that's where the problem arises." He laughs a short, Brutal sound, Larxene remains silent, the joke lost on her. Of course she's aware there may be no joke at all, just some street nuts sadistic pleasure. He doesn't explain, Happy to rush into his memories, the look on his face distant, Lips moving rapidly, Running him through the years.
Forever later, He glances briefly up at Larxene, Conscious that she hasn't made a casual cutting comment since thought took over. She's watching him, sparkling blue eyes watching him closely, measuring his reactions, awaiting him to finish his inner musings so perhaps he can share them with her.

"It's Melody," He concludes simply, grinning painfully at the blonde sprawled across his desk.

"Excuse me?" she drawls, Uninterested in talking about the little blonde girl from earlier. Her voice is low, Sends eerie shock waves across his skin, Low in his stomach. He'd never admit it, But Larxene is still dangerous. How easily she could kill him, how obediently she doesn't.
Murder gets you nothing but trouble in these situations.

"Melody's the one who sees him as a threat," he states, Matter-of-factly, Watching the dawning of realization spreading across her face with smug satisfaction.

"That's why she came here, Marluxia. Have you been asleep for the last while?" she snarls, leaning across the desk, nails digging sharply into the wood; irritated by the way he speaks to her. Annoyed she doesn't know what the fuck he's talking about. Frustrated he's so sure of himself on the matter. Angry she's still stuck here.

"As long as Axel's still street crawling, She's goin' to live under my roof, Just for a bit of protection, That, Let's face it, She's not really goin' to get," He smiles to himself, As though this is a revelation in itself. Larxene's mouth pulls slowly into an evil grin, realizing that just maybe, Marluxia made a point without her help. Not something so re-assuring. She watches his lips closely, certain there's more, focused on the words he's holding onto.

"The only thing keepin' her indoors is-"he looks to Larxene, Smirking with as much encouragement as he can muster, Confident she can draw her own conclusions.

"Axel," She responds, Firmly, Confidence in her voice breaking a smile on Marluxia's face. Her inner torment is back, Playing like a violent movie through glazed over blue eyes.

He knows of the relationship Larxene once struggled to maintain with Axel. As she suffered, He suffered, seeing someone so strong with such a chilling power harnessed behind a polite, vacant smile. Axel had never been well-known for his monogamy, And Larxene paid for the flame-haired boy's infidelities with her patience and her sanity. She spat his name like she tasted him all over again, her cold turkey recovery thrown to the ditches.

There's a comfortable silence, He watches the eerie and drastic expressions control and contort her face, before she manages to snatch at shreds of composure, glancing up at him with a bone-chilling determination in her eyes.

"So To get rid of Girly … We gotta bump off Axel?" She concludes, speaking slowly, disbelieving her own words. Her eyes rooted to his, Unsure of herself, But so confident all the same. The revenge for her battered womanly feelings on a man who had none whatsoever. Her grin spreads like a sickness across her features, and he watches the developments with a painful churning in his stomach. Her confidence outweighs his concerns over the situation, the obvious problems of trying to take on a notorious fighter and to then stage an accidental death. People like Axel aren't familiar with the word accident, Despite it being the only word he's ever heard since the day he was born.

"Focus," He utters, tapping fingers thoughtfully across his jaw bone, studying the ceiling as he struggles to form the words to convince Larxene that although Axel may have his own interesting chapters, He's not the antagonist in this story.

"Getting rid of Axel is goin' to take a lot of work, and there's no way we can safely isolate Axel from that gang of his without having one of them tag along regardless."

Larxene rolls her eyes, Annoyed at these problems that seem to constantly arise. To drive Axel to death has been some sick fantasy of hers ever since she met him. How many times had she pressed cold metal to his throat while he slept and then blamed it on his carelessness the next morning. Her over eagerness to destroy her past could jeopardise the delicate situation, but her hatred is blinding.

"I want Melody out; she's as bad as he is. People need to know where their loyalties lie. She'd turn on us in a heartbeat if she thought she could get anything out of it".

Larxene nods slowly, recalling the time Melody had spent under their care in the past. She was so young then, frail, pasty skinned. Ill. An instant success with anyone who bothered stopping to notice. She was reserved, silent. She spoke with those awkwardly blue eyes, occasionally smiling. Her confidence grew to ridiculous heights as she stormed the stage.

"..But then again, Axel has his own reasons, Honest and heartfelt as he seems to think they are, Perhaps ..." And his words trail into a desperate silence, Larxene struggles to compose herself, Seeing his silence as an opportunity to defend Axel's life, Although she can't seem to find any reason to.

"Perhaps … Maybe we could organise a meeting. In the club. And with dearest Melody returning to us, the entertainment is in supply", Crystal eyes closely measure Larxene's reaction. She parts glossed lips slowly, ready to reply, although her eyes painfully scan the air for a response. Marluxia enjoys watching the torment slip over her carefully created mask, A flicker of intense emotion, difficult to label, Flashes behind her eyes, Before they rest once more on him, Followed by a slow nod of approval.

"There's no doubt we can count on his little friends making a not-so-surprise appearance," he slurs, Eyes once again resting on the ceiling, Empty bottle clutched between willowy fingers as he stumbles and stalks around the room.

Larxene can sense his determination, He can already taste Axel's blood, and she can read his expression as easily as the graves of her friends, littering the city.

"Who do we get to do the job?" she whispers, Anxious, Fingers knotted together nervously, Hands bundled between her thighs.

His evil smirk contorts into something sadistic, grinning daringly at her. She dreads his next words, almost hearing her name spilling from thin lips. The taunting twist in his voice sending shivers up her spine.

"Oh Larxene, You don't think I'd set you up against the beloved Ex, Do you?"

A barely noticeable shake to her head.

"No Dearest, Our little Melody has more talent than her table dancing".